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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $899.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

HSM, Constant 2.8, Build Quality

Cons:

Softness in the corners until 7.1

I couldn't afford the 24-70 MM L from Canon so after reading some solid reviews I decided to "settle" on the Sigma. That's a bit unfair as the Sigma is an excellent lens. Even though the Canon is sharper on a full frame (I use this lens on my 5d), the reality is most brides and grooms aren't looking at the grass on the ground in the lower left corner of the photo and complaining about the lack of sharpness. If anything, the Sigma does a GREAT job of isolating the subject, it focuses VERY quickly, has a constant 2.8 and is excellent in low light situations. There is no doubt the Canon is a better lens, but its not $450 better. On a 1-10 the Canon is a 9.5 the Sigma is a 9.25. To the average layman, its awesome. Don't hesitate to pull the trigger on the Sigma...

Dirk

Registered: September 2009Posts: 1

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM review by Dirk

Review Date: 9/28/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharpness, weight, 2.8, build, price

Cons:

-

Great lens. Unbelievable fast focusing. A lot faster than the Nikon 28-70 2.8. Sharper than the Nikon 28-70 2.8 at 28mm, comparible at 70mm. IQ is great. Using a Nikon D300 gave no problems or whatsoever in close up range as reported by others. All in all a very impressive lens !

RadiantLite

Registered: June 2009Posts: 16

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM review by RadiantLite

Review Date: 7/5/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $900.00| Rating: 10

I bought this lens several months ago because I need a wide zoom lens for my full frame DSLr camera, Nikon D700. Previously I use Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 and Nikkor 35mm f/2.8, but I feel I switching lenses all the time is quite cumbersome for type of photography I like to do, event photography.

This lens is regarded as high-end lens, the one usually used by serious photographers such as professionals and advanced amateur photographers.

Nikon does not have many lens optimized for full frame camera. Nikon does offers Nikon 24-70mm AF-S f/2.8, but it is simply too expensive considering I am not full time photographer.

Fortunately, last year, Sigma launched 24-70mm f/2.8 HSM. This lens attracts my attention especially because I can use it in full frame camera or crop frame camera (Nikon D90. D300, D60, etc). Here is the list why this lens is attractive:

* Price: More than half the price compare to Nikon AF-S 24-70mm
* Size: It is compact, but the diameter is big. It takes 82mm filter.
* Built Quality: Great built quality, typical of Sigma EX (high-end lens)
* Image Quality: Sharp, good contrast, consistent result across focal length and aperture. Smooth bokeh but not as good as prime lens such as 85mm f/1.4
* Focal Length: 24mm is quite wide for many purpose although if you primarily take ultra-wide angle, consider Nikon 17-35mm or 14-24mm. 70mm is decent range, not too long and not too short.
* Auto Focus: Quiet and fast, tracks well thanks to HSM (hypersonic motor).

Despite all of above, there are couple things that I personally do not like: Sometimes, the auto focus switch automatically switch to manual focus. Until now, I don't know what trigger it. Although I like the compact size (short), but I feel the lens is not as comfortable to hold as the thinner, 77mm lens.

Conclusion
I highly recommend this lens for anybody who love "affordable" high quality lens. The lens works very well in full frame DSLR cameras, but it also works great in crop sensor camera. You can get a lot of value out of this lens even though you have crop sensor camera.

The only difference of mounting the lens on crop sensor camera will be the focal length. In crop sensor camera, it is equivalent to around 35-105mm. It might not wide enough in tight space, but looking at the positive side, you gain 35mm of extra focal length, which is great for head and shoulder portrait.

Would you recommend the product? No |
Total Spent: $1,034.19| Rating: 8

Pros:

cheaper than canon's 24-70

Cons:

not that much cheaper particularly in the UK

I'm using this lens on a 5D2 and I find it to be pretty sharp at f2.8 and seriously sharp from f4 on.

I've not noticed any CA or purple fringing with this lens so far and the distortion at 24mm seems minimal.

The only thing that lets this lens down is the vignetting on a 135 frame is pretty bad and does not really disappear at 24mm. This is however really easy to remove when processing your RAW.

my copy is not particularly good at min focus distance and I did have to dial in focus microadjust to stop it front focusing. (it also did this on my 20D & 40D so I'll be sending it for recalibration soon).

filter thread not a problem since 82mm hoya CP's are pretty cheap from HK.

If this lens was $150 cheaper than it currently is it would make a great deal of sense but because its not that much cheaper than the canon L version I would advise unless you are really skint to save the extra and get the canon to avoid any focus problems. I was seriously skint hence the purchase lol

CKLee

Registered: March 2009Posts: 1

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM review by CKLee

Review Date: 3/10/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $820.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

Cons:

I got this lens (Nikon mount) in HK last week and took a number of shots on Sunday.

Pros : No front-focus issue was found. AF is very fast and resolution throughout the range is high. The IQ is aharp and better than my Nikon16-85mm and Sigma 18-50mm EX f/2.8 lens. Colour rendition is excellent.

Cons. : The filter is expensive for 82mm which costs me US$118 for B+W. The wide angle is not enough for indoor shot with my Nikon D90. It also feels a bit heavy compared with 16-85mm. VR is not included.

Conclusion : This is a very sharp and high-resolution lens. It will be prefert with VR function.

ender21

Registered: March 2009Posts: 1

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM review by ender21

Review Date: 3/1/2009

Would you recommend the product? No |
Total Spent: $899.99| Rating: 7

Pros:

Solid build, sharp image

Cons:

front focus by a mile! expensive

I went into this lens with high hopes, but after doing some focus chart testing it appears my copy is front-focusing by nearly 20mm! That's woefully unacceptable. Now, I'd like to just exchange it for another copy to see if I can get a good one, but...

The filter size is 82mm which requires approx $200 for a circular polarizer, or more depending on which brand you buy! So adding the $899 + $260 I spent on a Hoya HMC, I can just take it back and exchange it for the Canon 24-70L for the same amount! Since I already own an L lens that has a 77mm filter, the net cost to me is nearly the same.

This lens has great potential though. when I Live View focus the images were very sharp across most of the focal range... however, there was a fair amount of Chromatic Aberration to be found.